


Seven Days

by Palatinedreams



Series: When Stars Collide [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bug!John, Developing Relationship, Difficult Decisions, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, Iratus-Mutated John Sheppard, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Wraith Culture (Stargate)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/pseuds/Palatinedreams
Summary: Todd receives a distress call from Atlantis because the Iratus-DNA that has been sleeping inside John Sheppard's body has woken up again after an off-world mission, and Sheppard refuses to continue the treatment all of a sudden.There are seven more days left, seven days on which he will need to get the treatment, and if he doesn't, then his transformation will be permanent.When Todd visits Sheppard in his isolation room, he makes a surprising offer to the mutated colonel, an offer that might change their relationship forever.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Todd the Wraith
Series: When Stars Collide [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817311
Comments: 28
Kudos: 55





	1. Negotiations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragonflower1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflower1/gifts).



> The initial idea to this fic was actually about Sheppard being seriously sick and contagious and having to stay in isolation all alone with Todd keeping him company at some point. Then it morphed into this one with bug!John, and something entirely different, and as I know how much you love reading about mutated John, I hope you will enjoy reading this story! <33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todd comes to Atlantis after Richard Woolsey and Dr. Keller contacted him, just to find John Sheppard transformed by the Iratus-DNA for a second time. Negotiations must be made to find the best way to help Sheppard, and Todd finally makes a surprising offer that will give John a choice he didn't think he would have...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this first chapter was easy, and of course it became much longer than I'd intended it to be - again. I hope that this story will make up for the bug!John story I never got to finish for you! <33

“You keep him in isolation. Why is that? Is he contagious?”

The ancient Wraith Commander strode closer to the bulletproof window front that separated the isolation ward from the rest of the infirmary, and he thought that it spoke volumes that none of the attendees had tried to chain him instantly after his arrival or deny the two officers accompanying him access to the infirmary so far.

The New Lanteans must really be desperate that they had contacted him after their last encounter, which hadn't really gone well to put it nicely. The Commander who was known as Todd among the Atlantis expedition team only wished that they had called him sooner, but he surely wouldn't tell them that – or that he still cared about Sheppard despite the fact that they hadn't exactly parted on good terms the last time they'd met.

The Wraith still felt betrayed, even hurt, but his emotions didn't show on his face as he now regarded the colonel through the glass front silently.

Dr. Keller was slim and rather small, even for a woman, and she'd never indicated that she was known for her bravery, but she was the one stepping beside him now and ignoring the two glaring officers to explain the situation to him. The Commander sent a mental command through their telepathic bond to his subordinates to step back and let the human female speak, and they retreated with quiet hisses but kept glowering at her, the memory of the Attero Device and what had happened when they had attempted to negotiate with those impudent and arrogant humans from another galaxy the last time still fresh in their memory.

The 'incident' had cost hundreds of their brethren their lives, and the Commander was well aware that the crews of his Hives wouldn't be willing to forget that and find understanding for Sheppard and his team in their hearts as easily as their superior usually did.

“No, Colonel Sheppard is not contagious, To... Commander,” Dr. Keller hastily corrected herself when his third-in-command let out another hiss and stepped closer to her in obvious threat because of her lapse with the ridiculous name Sheppard had imposed on him. He raised a demanding hand, and his underling paused, but not without hissing warningly at the two Marines who were raising their sidearms reflexively and pointing them at him as well.

“We are no threat to you,” he said, his voice grave and sharp, and he let his glittering golden gaze travel over the people which had gathered in the infirmary to make sure that no harm would come to their military leader from the Wraith they had asked to come to Atlantis because they had reached their limits and didn't know what to do anymore.

Humans, especially those from another galaxy so far away from his own one. So proud and arrogant, denying him and his kin the right to exist, but when they were facing problems that were too big for them to stomach, they would cry for help and expect him to follow their call and drop everything he'd been doing. He was really tired of that, and if it wasn't Sheppard himself needing his aid, he wouldn't even have bothered to answer their call.

But here he stood – once again – and this time they would bend to his demands and agree to his conditions, that much was clear.

“But there is one thing I wish to make quite clear right from the beginning,” the Wraith therefore continued as he gave each of Sheppard's friends a pointed look.

“It was you contacting me and asking me and my crew for help, not the other way round. I followed your summon and came here to see for myself what happened to your military leader - and whether or not I am able to help you with his treatment, but I and my officers will leave again if you so much as only think of another betrayal or trying to restrain me or my subordinates. We will move freely and unchained in the city, and you will call your soldiers back and make sure that their nervous fingers will stay away from the trigger of their weapons.

I will not give you the chance to kill more of my kin this time. Plus, I took precautions after my latest experiences with your traitorous human nature, and there are five more of my Hives in close range to Atlantis at the moment, which will prepare to attack your precious city if I'm not back on board my command Hive within the next five hours – alive, free and unharmed. Your shield will not protect you against the attack of six Hives, so think carefully before you decide to betray me again.”

Woolsey, Sheppard's civilian counterpart, shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and the Commander couldn't help but enjoying his apparent discomfort thoroughly. The acid stench of his fear filled the room that was crowded with humans, and the Wraith gazed down at the man with the bald head and let his nostrils and sensor pits flare as he peeled his gray lips back into a toothy grin and inhaled the air through his pointed translucent teeth.

“We are grateful that you accepted our request for advice and help, Commander,” the middle-aged man hurried to exclaim, and the Wraith had to give him credit for not falling for the same trap and trying to call him 'Todd' in the presence of his officers. He actually didn't mind the name Sheppard had given him, and after hacking Atlantis' database the last time he'd worked together with McKay and finding out the meaning of the ancient and rather honorable name, he actually caught himself using this name for himself more and more often, but this was nothing he would tell Woolsey or any of the other New Lanteans.

“But you must understand that we have to ensure Atlantis' safety and...” Woolsey now tried to continue and explain, but Todd didn't have either the time, nor the patience for the man's fears and long speeches, and he interrupted him rather rudely.

“Your city is safe for now, don't worry about that, human. As long as you accept my conditions, my Hives will be no threat to you.” Woolsey snapped his mouth shut with an indignant “hrrumpf!”, and the Commander looked around satisfied when the Marines lowered their weapons and withdrew a few steps with a mixture of reluctance and relief.

“Where is my special friend Ronon Dex, by the way?” he asked curiously, “I would have expected him to be near Sheppard and present here for our meeting? You did not go so far to put him into a prison cell for my sake, did you, Mr. Woolsey?” the Wraith threw his head back in barking laughter, and only a truly attentive watcher like the Satedan or Teyla Emmagan would have noticed that he was watching Sheppard's reaction closely through the thick glass.

The colonel had withdrawn to the farthest corner of the isolation room when Todd and his officers had come into sight, his more reptile than human eyes flickering around and back and forth between the Wraith and the members of his expedition team and his claw-like fingers flexing at his sides. His mouth was bared to a grimace of anger, wariness and distress, and his torso was bent forward in fight-or-flight response to the things going on before the room he was trapped in. The ancient Commander wondered briefly that the glass was still intact and that Sheppard hadn't made any attempt to escape from his prison so far as he'd read the reports of what had happened to the hazel-eyed human the first time he'd been infected with the Iratus-DNA after his encounter with a young female Wraith and the retro-virus she'd used on herself, but the gaze of his transformed alien eyes was still clear, sharp and focused, so his reasonable mind, sanity and analytic abilities must still be intact despite his altered looks.

Woolsey had paled visibly at Todd's behavior, but he held his head up high. “We sent Ronon on a mission together with Major Lorne to examine the facility where the incident happened one more time.” The bald-headed man paused uncertainly. “We thought it better to keep the two of you away from each other,” he then admitted, and Todd barked another laugh.

“I would think that the Satedan was not happy about your decision, Mr. Woolsey,” he grinned, and the man's cheeks turned red while the rest of his face remained snow-white.

“No, he was not.”

“It speaks for you that he yet bent to your order, human,” Todd acknowledged in some kind of praise, turning his attention back to Dr. Keller again at last.

“You were about to explain to me what happened, Dr. Keller,” he addressed her in a much more courteous manner, “your call was so urgent that we couldn't talk about the mission on which the colonel became injured beforehand, so please enlighten me about the whole incident now.”

The small woman with the blond hair and the surprisingly equally genius mind as McKay possessed – only regarding the sciences of biology and medicine – nodded her head and lifted her hands in a somewhat helpless gesture.

“Colonel Sheppard and his team discovered one of Michael's secret laboratories. It seemed to be abandoned, and all we know is that he must have used it for his experiments to turn humans into similar creatures like the one he has become. Colonel Sheppard got separated from his team and found himself trapped in a room where he was exposed to a gas that reactivated the sleeping Iratus-DNA in his body. His change started soon after their return to Atlantis, and when we became aware of it, we started instantly with the treatment Dr. Beckett had developed when he got infected by the female Wraith Ellia for the first time, but so far, it hasn't had the desired effect within the same time. We could stop the process of the transformation, but then he refused to let us proceed with the treatment all of a sudden, and if he won't get the remaining seven doses that are left, he will stay the way he is now, and we fear that his change will be a lasting one then that can't be undone anymore.”

Todd raised one of his hairless brow-ridges, but he didn't take his eyes off of the human behind the glass screen, his eyes traveling slowly over Sheppard's alien bluish features.

“And when he refused to cooperate you thought of contacting me and asking me to do - what? Talk to him to make him cooperate and let himself be treated where you failed in that? Find another cure that will turn him back to be fully human again when the cure you have found the last time will not work any longer?”

Dr. Keller blushed and bit down on her bottom lip, but she refused to duck her head between her shoulders and flinch away from the anger audible in his voice. Todd had always secretly admired her, but it was never a clever thing to do to feed the arrogance and sense of superiority all these humans from Earth possessed to such an astonishing large amount anyway, and so he simply waited for her answer, curious whether she would resort to some lame excuses or actually go with the truth.

He could feel the presence of the Athosian in the back of his mind all of a sudden, her attempt to break through his mental barriers and invade his mind to read his thoughts and warn her friends in case that he was planning a betrayal feeling as though something was pressing down onto his brain from all sides. Teyla Emmagan was certainly as powerful as any Wraith Queen when it came to that, yet the years in the captivity of the Genii had helped him to strengthen his mental barriers considerably and keep himself separated from the Hive mind with his brethren, and he withstood her attack with a low angry growl that fled his lips.

Back then in Kolya's dungeon, it had been a matter of survival and keeping his sanity intact as Wraith were dependent on the mental bond with their own kin and couldn't survive for too long without it, and at first it had felt like a damage of not only his brain, but also his whole Wraith-self when he'd found himself unable to open up fully to his crew again after his return, but now he was actually grateful that he could resist such attempts rather easily. He'd been going without a Queen for a long time even before Kolya's men had captured him, and he created a feedback loop in his mind when the Athosian increased the force of her attempted invasion that crashed right back into her own mind and caused her to gasp out loudly in pain and her hands to fly up to her head to grasp it tightly.

“I would advise you not to try that again, Teyla Emmagan, not if you want my cooperation and help in this case.” he stated calmly and almost like in passing without bothering to turn his head and really look at the woman standing behind him, and the Marines moved again but found themselves facing two tall and hissing Wraith officers stepping between them and their own superior instantly.

“Can we please leave our animosities be for the moment and concentrate on how to help Colonel Sheppard instead?” Dr. Keller asked exasperatedly, and Todd inclined his head and smiled at her.

“You and I agree on that, Dr. Keller, but your superior apparently does not as it would seem,” he offered, “one more attempt like this and I will return to my Hive, Mr. Woolsey. Have I made myself clear about this?”

“Yes, you did, Commander,” the civilian leader murmured subduedly, and Todd nodded his head and resumed watching Sheppard through the window after this was settled to his contentment. The displeasure and feeling of offense flooding through the mental link with his officers distracted him, and he growled inaudibly at them, painfully aware how fragile their sense of loyalty towards him still was after the incident with the Attero Device and his unwavering sense of loyalty towards Colonel Sheppard.

“So what of the two things is it you want from me, Dr. Keller?” he asked, and she sighed, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he could smell her tiredness.

“Probably both, Commander,” she replied, opting for the truth as she was apparently the most reasonable one of the humans who'd gathered in the infirmary, her only concern that of how best to help her patient and not to continue bickering about the past and their respective mistrust towards each other.

“I see. Colonel Sheppard's mind doesn't seem to be as affected as it was the last time he changed, so why did you not talk to him yourself?”

“We tried to do that. Dr. McKay spent hours with him, and Colonel Sheppard listened to him, but he refused to tell us so far why he doesn't want to continue the treatment. Dr. McKay accompanied Major Lorne's team to the facility together with Ronon, and the colonel didn't allow us access to the isolation room after Rodney had left him any longer. He hasn't gotten his injection today, and even though the DNA has stopped overtaking his body at this point, but Colonel Sheppard will remain in his current state if he won't get the injections. There are seven of them left, one injection each following day from today on.”

The Wraith tilted his head, his eyes demanding the isolated human's attention through the glass front.

“I see. Hand me the syringe. I will talk to him.” Todd averted his eyes from Sheppard's face to look down at the blonde doctor, his glove-covered palm turned upwards in anticipation of being handed the treatment that would turn Sheppard back fully into the human man he'd once been.

Dr. Keller hesitated but then gestured to one of the two nurses to bring the syringe, and the wave of relief emanating from the New Lanteans that were present in the infirmary was palpable. For now, they were released of their own duty to make their military leader cooperate, all of them, Dr. Keller and Mr. Woolsey included, happy to leave that difficult task up to the Wraith they usually still considered to be their enemy – except for the occasions when they demanded his help whenever it suited them, of course.

“I hope that he will listen to you,” Mr. Woolsey murmured, and Todd bent his head down to invade the poor man's personal space.

“But why would you do that, human? Your trust in me must be something you have developed only recently, then – because you don't even know what I am going to tell him, right?”

Woolsey stumbled backwards, his face turning snow-white again and his eyes widening in mortal fear. Todd almost felt pity with the man, but only almost after all the things these people had done to him over the course of time of their acquaintance.

“Have you ever thought that Colonel Sheppard does not wish to be turned into his former self against his will again? It is clear that you want this, but your wishes don't necessarily have to go along with his.”

“You will not influence him to remain in his current state, Commander!” Teyla Emmagan spoke up in a hard voice now. She'd obviously recovered from his own mental strike against her attack, and she glared at him fiercely, although her face was a mask of calm.

“I have no intention to influence Colonel Sheppard in any way – opposite to you, Teyla Emmagan. You arrogant and impudent humans need to learn that not all is about you and your wishes and beliefs. This here is not about what you or I want – it is about what Sheppard wants for himself.”

“Why would Colonel Sheppard want to remain halfway Wraith?” Dr. Keller threw in, pulling a contemptuous snarl from Todd's officers and a mocking smile from him.

“Believe me when I tell you that he is far from being halfway _Wraith_ , Dr. Keller. It takes a whole lot more than that to become Wraith. But your question is actually a good one, and I will go in now and do my best to get the answer to this question from Colonel Sheppard himself. Deactivate the lock, I wish to join the colonel in his room,” the ancient Commander demanded, taking the syringe with the remedy the blonde doctor handed him and entering the white room when the heavy doors unlocked with a loud hiss.

It closed behind him with the same noise when he had passed the threshold, and then the tall Wraith was alone with Sheppard, two adrenaline-filled males trapped together in a small room for the next hours, that would become interesting for sure.

*~*~*

“Ah, Shepparrrd, it's always a pleasure to see you,” Todd said when they were standing face to face at last, unfazed by the way Sheppard bared his teeth and retreated towards the white wall, his now almost slotted orange eyes fixed on the syringe the Wraith was holding in his glove-covered left hand.

“Can't say the same of you, Todd,” he muttered after a moment or two of deadly silence, and Todd found himself oddly relieved that his voice was still the same – as was his usual rude demeanor as well.

“I am also pleased to know that you're still the same under your new looks, Sheppard,” he retorted with a snort. “Always telling the truth and never trying to cover your feelings with diplomatic politeness. I would think that some humbleness would suit you much better after what happened during our last encounter, human!” Todd dropped his voice to a low growl, and Sheppard's jawline tightened when he pressed his lips to a thin line.

“I told you that the Attero Device wasn't our doing! How many times do you need me to repeat that?” he hissed back, and Todd shrugged his shoulders and played with the syringe in his hand.

“As often as it will take until I might be inclined to believe you. If your arrogant scientist would finally stop sticking his nose into things that are none of his business, that would surely be of great help to achieve this goal.”

“McKay had nothing to do with that! It was Dr. Jackson who insisted on finding this hidden lab,” Sheppard defended his friend before he realized what he was doing and lifted his chin up in defiance. “it doesn't matter anyway. It was you who wanted to crash the Daedalus and kill innocent people!”

“I did what I did to save my brethren, Sheppard – as you would do to ensure the safety of your people and kill hundreds of Wraith without even blinking, right? But that is not what I have come here for,” Todd offered a temporary ceasefire as riling the distressed human up even more than he already was would be pointless and only cause more problems.

“And what is it you have come here for, _Todd_?” Sheppard demanded to know, just to shake his head right away. “No, don't tell me, I know why you have come here. They called you because they hope that you will knock some sense back into me again, didn't they? I'm just curious why you actually agreed to that because I can't see what you would gain out of that.”

Todd wandered over to the small table at the wall opposite the door, white like the rest of the room and equipped with two white plastic chairs to sit down there. The infirmary bed and its sheets, pillow and blanket were white, too, and Todd found the entire chamber and furniture to be depressing and giving him a headache because of the gaudy white color and the far too bright neon light that was attached to the ceiling. It was clear that the New Lanteans had changed the room because Todd didn't know this color or lights from any other room in Atlantis, and he wondered how Sheppard dealt with the bright light – as his eyes must be pretty sensitive to such brightness now, too.

He took one of the chairs to sit down on it and adopt a nonchalant posture, sending calming thoughts to his officers because they grew more and more agitated with each minute that passed. He couldn't really blame them, but this talk would take longer, and he needed them here in Atlantis – just in case that Sheppard's behavior changed and he eventually made up his mind and decided that he wanted to escape this room despite the safety locks and bulletproof glass front.

“Have a seat please, Sheppard, will you? I'm too old to stare up at you like that all of the time,” he joked, and the colonel snorted, but he actually came over to the table with cautious motions and sat down on the edge of the vacant chair in safe distance from the table. Todd regarded him in the cold white light, and the other one lifted his chin up in defiance once more.

“Not what you've been used to, huh? Looks quite ugly now, doesn't it?” Sheppard's voice was filled with challenge, but there was a layer of insecurity beneath the defiant and mocking tone, and his eyes had darkened with fear – fear that Todd would judge and reject him like his own people and friends had done it just because he didn't look like himself any longer.

The ancient Commander took his time before he replied, regarding his counterpart quietly for several moments. He'd seen pictures of Sheppard when he'd been infected with the Iratus-DNA after his encounter with the young Wraith Ellia, and he noticed the similarities from that first time to his current appearance, but the change was not as severe as it had been the last time, probably due to the treatment he'd already gotten. His cheekbones were more prominent now, with sharp ridges that hadn't been there beforehand, and it was the same with his eyebrows, but they were still hairy, and he didn't have sensor pits beside his nose, even though there were two thin dark lines visible at each side of his nose, so he'd probably had some sensor slits that had closed because of the injections again. His eyes were still mostly human, but their color was more intense now, more amber-golden than hazel-green, and the pupils were more slotted than actual rounds, two tiny slits because of the too bright light.

Sheppard's skin was still more pale-rosy than gray, but Todd could see the pattern of veins crossing and spreading underneath clearly, which gave his skin a visibly bluish color. His hands resembled those clawed hands of Wraith, with long fingers and sharp dark nails, but for Todd they were beautiful in their uniqueness.

“You are still you, Sheppard,” he eventually said, “your transformation hasn't changed that.”

Sheppard closed his eyes for a moment, and his fingers clenched to fists on the white top of the table. Todd frowned and sent a command to his officers that the New Lanteans would at least dim the light. They must be aware that it hurt their friend and colleague, and yet they were not willing to be considerate and make things any easier for him, probably hoping that Sheppard would give in to their wish to continue the treatment if they forced him to endure pain and discomfort in his isolation.

After several long seconds, the gaudy bright white actually dimmed to warm yellow and something more bearable, and Sheppard huffed a relieved sigh.

“Well, that was your doing, wasn't it? Thank you, I guess,” the colonel murmured, and Todd felt something inside him soften when he saw the lines of pain on Sheppard's face smoothing out.

“You're welcome. The light has hurt my eyes as much as yours, so I wasn't entirely selfless here.”

“You have no reason to be.” Sheppard sounded thoughtful, less defiant and angry, and he opened his eyes and looked back to the syringe Todd had put onto the table.

“Are you going to inject it now?” he asked, and Todd inclined his head.

“Only if you want me to do that, Sheppard. It's your choice.”

The human colonel laughed bitterly. “No, it's not. What kind of real choice do I have?”

“There is always a choice, Sheppard. But you must be sure about which path you want to walk along in the future.”

“Well yeah, that's the problem. I don't know which road I want to take.” The man who'd once saved him from the Genii and from losing his sanity stared down at the syringe with vacant eyes, his gaze directed inwardly at something only he could see.

Todd waited, knowing that he needed to give his human brother time to gather his thoughts. Talking about feelings, about his fears, dreams and wishes, didn't come easily to Sheppard, and trying to rush or force him wouldn't get him anywhere, and definitely not lead to learning the truth of what this was all about.

“At first, when it happened again, shortly after I'd been exposed to the gas, my biggest fear was that I would turn into the mindless animal-like creature again, and this scared the shit out of me. I'd rather die than lose my sanity and intelligence, but it didn't happen this time. My body changed, but my mind did not, and when I realized that, I was suddenly hesitant to let Dr. Keller proceed with the treatment.”

Sheppard fell silent, grimacing at the memories of what had happened when he'd changed his mind.

“They put me in isolation when I told Jennifer that I wasn't sure anymore that I wanted to go on.”

“They fear that you will become a threat,” Todd offered, “the transformation could still change your mind, no one can know that. What would you do if you were in their shoes, Sheppard?”

“Put me in isolation.” Sheppard shrugged. “I'm not angry at them that they did. I offered them to leave Atlantis, but I'm a security breach, they cannot let me go.”

“So it's either you stay here – or you agree to the treatment.” Todd nodded, “they said that there are seven more days you'll need the cure to re-establish your former state – and that the transformation can't be undone anymore if you wait for too long.”

“Yes, that's true.” Sheppard snorted. “That's why they contacted you, I guess – even though we didn't part on good terms last time. They hope that you will change my mind, in which way whatsoever, whether it is because looking at you will remind me of my own Wraith-like looks – or because of your inhuman strength that will give you an advantage and make it possible for them to inject me against my will, that remains to be seen.”

“Their hopes regarding the second possibility will be in vain, as I won't let them use me like that, Sheppard. About the first option – that's something only you can decide.”

“So you're actually wasting your time, Todd. You can take your officers and leave again, as just looking at you won't change my mind.”

Todd chuckled with true amusement. “I'm glad to hear that, Sheppard. Don't concern yourself about how I wish to spend my time, though, as I don't mind sitting here with you at all.”

“You don't?” Sheppard gazed at him from under heavy lids, and Todd leaned forward to rest his forearms and elbows on the table and entangle his fingers.

“No, Sheppard. If you wish to spend the next seven days in isolation until your change is permanent and can't be undone anymore, then it will be my pleasure to keep you company and stay here with you in this room. But there is also a third option neither you, nor your Dr. Keller or your friends have thought of.”

“And which option would that be?” Sheppard inquired, his voice betraying a sharp edge of mistrust, but his scent gave his hope and excitement away, and the prospect of being allowed to leave the isolation room had finally pulled him out of state of defiant resignation, much to the Wraith's relief.

“You and I will spend the next seven days away from Atlantis and alone together. We will take one of your Jumpers and leave the city, and I will show you things from my Wraith perspective. We will talk, and you will learn more about my kin. At the end of each of the following seven days, I will offer you the treatment, and you will decide whether you want to accept it or not. When these seven days are over, I will either bring you back to Atlantis, or bring you to a place of your choice and inform Mr. Woolsey where he can pick up the Jumper.”

Sheppard stared at him, silence stretching between them. Todd returned his gaze calmly, and the colonel slowly unclenched his tight fists.

“Mr. Woolsey and Jennifer will never agree to that,” he eventually said, and Todd grinned at him as he leaned back in his chair.

“Leave that up to me, Sheppard, they won't have any other choice than to agree to that, don't worry,” he stated contentedly, folding his arms comfortably before his broad black chest. “Do we have a deal, then?”

Sheppard swallowed, closed his eyes and opened them again.

“Yes, Todd, we have a deal,” he gave back, and Todd was actually pretty glad that he'd followed Atlantis' call, because spending seven days alone with Sheppard was a much more appealing prospect all of a sudden than he'd ever thought it to be.


	2. Day One: Supernova

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day One: Todd and Sheppard leave Atlantis to start with their short but important trip through Pegasus, and Todd shows John the place he always visits when he needs be alone and think about his own place in the diversity of the uinverse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear friend,
> 
> this chapter already turned out to be different than I'd expected it to be, and it's because of a certain song about a special mermaid I listened to while writing this chapter thanks to you. I think you know which one I'm referring to. <33

“Colonel Sheppard hasn't developed a hand mouth and is unable to feed like Wraith do. So what is it exactly that you are so concerned about regarding his transformation?”

Todd glanced around, his posture that of the imperious Commander of ten large and dangerous Hives. Richard Woolsey had set up a meeting in one of Atlantis' conference rooms after Todd's proposal to take their mutated military leader on a trip for the next seven days, and they were sitting around the large table and discussing said proposal now.

Well, he and Woolsey were the ones trying to discuss Todd's sensible suggestion – whereas the arrogant Athosian and the big Satedan were glaring daggers at him and doing their best to thwart any attempt to have a serious and civilized conversation with each other.

The human genius scientist Dr. McKay was surprisingly quiet, but he was looking as if he still couldn't believe what had happened to his team leader and friend, his expression a mixture of pathetic endurance, misery and disgust. He and the former runner Ronon Dex had returned from their mission with empty hands an hour ago, and it amused and annoyed the Wraith at the same time that Dex was allowed to be a part of the negotiations as he'd nothing useful to say at all. His only words were the typical and expected _“I'll kill you with my bare hands, Wraith!!”_ which would be an almost impossible task even for a man as strong, tall and trained as the Satedan was, and his own officers had stepped in between the snarling human and their Commander and made clear that they wouldn't let him come closer without breaking his head if he didn't shut up instantly.

Todd snorted inwardly at the antics these humans always loved to display like little children in their defiant phase – even when they considered themselves to be reasonable adults – and he averted his eyes from McKay's pouting features to focus his attention back on Woolsey and Dr. Keller – the two most reasonable persons currently present in the room.

“No, he hasn't, that's true, but it could still happen if he refuses to continue the treatment, right?” McKay now asked, his voice trembling at the thought that the man he considered to be his best friend would try to feed on him all of a sudden.

“It's not entirely impossible, but very unlikely,” Todd replied with a shake of his head, “as far as I know from your reports about the first transformation Colonel Sheppard suffered, such a mutation was never an issue back then in the first place, and it won't become one this time either as far as I am concerned as a scientist. Apart from that, Colonel Sheppard hasn't lost any of his mental abilities or human virtues this time, and you can't possibly think that he would become a threat to you and attempt to feed on any of his expedition team members.” He raised one of his hairless brow-ridges, and the scientist with the astonishing blue eyes had at least the decency to blush and duck his head between his shoulders for a moment.

“Sheppard needs the treatment. He's _Wraith_ now, he can't stay like that!” the big Satedan now growled angrily, and Todd shot him a brief appraising glance.

“Colonel Sheppard is not _Wraith,_ Ronon Dex. He's far from that, and it takes a whole lot more to become Wraith, so you really don't have to fear that this will happen. Plus, he doesn't seem to share your opinion about the necessity of the treatment as far as I can tell after our talk, and it's not your opinion and wish here that should be of any value, but only his own ones.”

Colonel Sheppard is a threat to Atlantis' safety in his current state, Commander,” the Athosian Teyla Emmagan made herself known above the angry roar the former runner let out, and Todd gave her a long meaningful look.

“Colonel Sheppard would be well advised to choose his friends more carefully in the future if you really think that, Teyla Emmagan. He would never expose his beloved city to any risk or danger willingly and deliberately. Besides, his mental state is stable and his intelligence, reason and his loyalty towards Atlantis and all of you as well are perfectly intact and not damaged in any way – as they were also intact the first time he was transformed as far as the reports about that incident let on. He never gave any indication that he wanted to endanger Atlantis or any of you even when the Iratus-DNA combined with the unfinished retro-virus affected his mind to such an extent back then. You should actually be ashamed of yourself to think so low of him.”

That silenced the people sitting around the table at last. The Athosian leader and the Satedan were still glaring at him, but Dr. McKay and Mr. Woolsey had at least the decency to look ashamed because of their mistrust towards a man who'd been willing to sacrifice himself for their sake more than just once since their arrival in Pegasus. The man with the bald head Todd had enjoyed scaring to death during their last encounter hadn't been a member of the expedition team when Sheppard had first been infected, but he must know the dark-haired colonel well enough to judge his character and his loyalties as good as Todd himself was able to do, and the same went for the genius scientist.

“You know that my proposal is the most sensible one. You won't gain anything out of keeping Colonel Sheppard trapped in isolation, and if not even Dr. McKay was able to change his mind as his best friend,” - this had the mentioned best friend blushing deep red - but Todd simply ignored him and just continued to speak:

“... then spending time with someone who has lived in sync with the inheritance of the Iratus Bug for thousands of years might perhaps help him come to a decision you all can live with. So it's either you agreeing to my proposal and providing us with one of your Jumpers for our trip, or I will leave you to your own devices now.” The ancient Commander paused for a moment to give his next words a dramatic effect.

“Oh, by the way, have I mentioned that three Hives of another Wraith faction are flying in the direction of your precious city as we speak? My second informed me about it shortly before we started these negotiations. I will of course ensure the safety of your people while I'm away with your colonel and leave my Hives in orbit of this planet to protect Atlantis against possible...” he drawled, his features schooled in a perfect mask of innocent business.

Woolsey and McKay went snow-white at his announcement between one heartbeat and the next, while the clever Athosian woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Ronon let out a furious roar, his eyes glowing yellow with hate, but Major Lorne, who hadn't said anything so far and just watched the whole drama unfold in stoic calm put his hand onto Dex' shoulder and pressed him down onto his chair with surprising vigor. As small as Sheppard's XO was, but he was stronger than he looked like, and there was an aura of authority surrounding him that made clear why he was the right man for the post as the second of the remarkable military leader of the Ancient City.

Lorne let his hand where it was resting on the big man's shoulder, pressing the Satedan down onto his seat with it and tapped his radio with the other one.

“Chuck, check the deep space and long range sensors. Todd's just informed us that three Hives are on direct course to Atlantis.” The young major kept his eyes on Todd's face as he gave his orders, and his sparkling blue gaze challenged him to protest against his human name, but the Wraith just bared his teeth to an amused grin and returned the appraising glance without blinking. His officers hissed silently at the offense, but his mental command kept them from voicing their displeasure out loud.

 _'Why do you let these impudent creatures disgrace you, Commander?'_ his third in command snarled through their connection, _'this Sheppard is not worth the trouble!'_

_'You're chiding them for their lack of respect but show the same behavior with your next sentence, officer! The human Sheppard has become my brother when he valued our bargain and gave me back the stars, and more than that. You will not judge the value he has for me, and you will not question my decisions. Am I understood?'_

Todd was still fighting a silent battle with Lorne, but he could feel his third-in-command bow his head behind him through their link.

_'Yes, you are, Commander. I apologize, I overstepped my bounds.'_

_'That you did, but I will not remove you from your post, officer – this time. But I advise you not to that again and question my decisions. I value your opinion, and I trust your judgment in many regards, but you don't know Colonel Sheppard and his value as well as I do, so you'd better not dare talking about him in this disrespectful manner ever again.'_

Todd sent a brief soothing thought through their link after his for the humans inaudible reprimand, and he could hear his officer swallow with his sharp sense of hearing.

_'I will not do that again, Commander... Thank you for your forgiveness.'_

The other officer was considerably younger than Todd's third-in-command, and he hadn't dared speaking up against Sheppard like his older brother had done, but the ancient Commander could feel the faintest hint of defiance coming through their telepathic bond, defiance mixed with curiosity about why their experienced and wise Commander would hold the impudent and unimportant human from another galaxy in such high regards.

“... yes, understood, thank you, Chuck.” Lorne's calm voice made the Wraith focus on the young major again.

“Has your Chuck affirmed the truth of my words to your satisfaction, Major Lorne?” he inquired curiously, and Sheppard's XO gifted him with a brief mistrustful glance.

“Yes, he has, ...Commander,” he replied before he turned his head to look at Richard Woolsey. “There are indeed three Hives on a course that will lead them to Atlantis. At their current rate they will be here within three days at the latest.”

“I see.” The civilian leader with the bald head swallowed as he gazed at the three Wraith through his glasses. “Do you know these Wraith, Commander?” he wanted to know, and Todd grinned at him and shrugged his shoulder in a vague gesture that could be a yes as much as a no.

“Whether I know them or not will not matter at all if I and all my Hives will leave you bare and bereft of my visible support, don't you think so, Mr Woolsey? I have offered you a bargain, it is upon you now to accept it or not.”

There was a loud noise when the Satedan suddenly jumped over the table and pulled a long blade out of its sheath at the same time so fast that none of the humans sitting next to him or standing right behind him like Major Lorne was doing could actually react in time, and he crossed the room with long steps and jumped onto the table right in front of Todd's seat right in the next second. Todd remained sitting in his chair, only craned his head back ever so slightly when the sparkling steel of the long dagger was pressed against his throat.

“I'll kill you Wraith!!!” Ronon Dex snarled furiously, and Todd gazed calmly at him, raising his hand to stop them when his two officers let out irate hisses of their own and stepped forward to deal with the former runner and make sure that their superior wouldn't suffer any serious damage from the blade in his hand.

“If you do that, Ronon Dex, then your admired team leader will remain in his current state without any chance to ever become his former human self again. If that's what you want...” He challenged him without moving, just meeting Dex' angry glare with mocking eyes.

“Ronon! Leave him be!” Lorne shouted, but Ronon ignored him until two of the major's Marines pulled him away from the Wraith at their superior's order. The Satedan struggled but finally retreated with another threatening growl, and Todd could hear Woolsey and McKay draw in loud and shaky breaths. The young major waved at his subordinates and they raised their weapons to keep Dex from attacking their three special guests again. Then, he turned his head back in Todd's direction.

“I don't like the idea of Colonel Sheppard leaving Atlantis for seven whole days in his current state, but we seem to have not much of a choice here. Our research didn't help us finding any other cure or treatment, and the colonel apparently seems to at least listen to you and maybe accept the treatment when it is coming from you. Dr. Keller, what is your opinion about that?”

The blonde doctor sighed, but her gaze was friendly when she looked at Todd. “I think we should give it a try as we don't have any other options left. Maybe someone with the Iratus-DNA can really understand and help Colonel Sheppard better than we can help him at this point.”

Major Lorne nodded grimly, and his glance silenced Woolsey and McKay's protest before they could voice it.

“You will get the Jumper, Todd,” he said, going back to addressing him with the name Sheppard had gifted him with once more. “But I'll swear to you – if you so much as merely think of hurting him in any way – then there will be no place in this galaxy or any other in this universe where you can hide from me, _Commander!”_

“No harm will come to Colonel Sheppard from my hand,” Todd acknowledged Lorne's warning, pulling another roar from the big Satedan. But I cannot promise you that he will return to you fully human again. I will not force the treatment upon him if he refuses to accept it.”

“You shall better hope that he will, Commander,” Lorne said, his voice emotionless and calm, but holding an audible threat in it nonetheless. “It's fixed then, let's go tell Colonel Sheppard our decision.”

*~*~*

“How did you do that?”

Sheppard gave Todd a sidelong glance as he checked the Jumper and busied himself with the controls for their imminent take off through the Stargate about two hours later.

The ancient Commander leaned back in his seat and bared his teeth to a wolfish grin. He'd accompanied Major Lorne and Doctor Keller back to the infirmary while Mr. Woolsey had been left to deal with a furious ex-rummer, an equally fuming Athosian leader and a heartbroken genius scientist, so Todd had definitely drawn the longer stick this time.

Sheppard had finally be willing to leave the isolation room without attacking everyone coming too close to him, hastily packing some things they would need for their trip as he was as eager to leave Atlantis as Todd was. Dr. Keller had given Todd the bag with the medical equipment and the seven syringes with the treatment, and the Wraith was careful to keep it out of Sheppard's reach, but he wouldn't force Sheppard to accept the cure if he didn't want to be cured freely and willingly, he'd made that clear to the New Lanteans once more before they had entered the Jumper.

“Let us just say that I convinced them that they would do better with my aid and protection,” the Wraith just said nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulder as he made himself comfortable in the copilot's seat now.

“And _how_ did you do that?” Sheppard kept pressing, apparently not willing to leave it at that.

“There are currently three Hives flying on a course that will lead them to this location here if they won't make any corrections and which don't belong to my alliance. I merely offered to let four of my own Hives stay in orbit over the city – just in case, of course, and it was obviously enough to make them feel cooperative,” Todd informed him, carefully watching Sheppard's reaction under heavy lids.

“ _What?_ And you're telling me that now? We can't leave Atlantis if this is true!” the mutated colonel hissed furiously, ready to jump from his seat, but then he stopped instantly and narrowed his eyes to regard his companion suspiciously.

“That's only half of the truth, isn't? What are you not telling me this time, Wraith?”

Todd chuckled, very pleased that his human brother didn't let himself be fooled as easily as Woolsey and his team members and friends. He had the suspicion that Lorne hadn't let himself be fooled either, but the young major must secretly agree with Todd's proposal regarding Sheppard because he hadn't said anything and just accepted Todd's offer with obvious gratitude.

“Hmm, I might have forgotten to clarify when I talked to your Mr. Woolsey that these three Hives fly under the command of an old friend of mine, totally unintentionally, of course. It's true that they don't belong to my alliance, though – not yet at least. But it seems that it slipped my attention to mention that said old friend of mine will respect my order not attack Atlantis, so your people were pretty eager to agree to my proposal and offered their unconditional support for our seven days' trip.”

“I see. I should have known it!” Sheppard growled, but Todd only gazed at him with a mockingly raised brow-ridge.

“It was your friends calling me and asking me for help when you didn't let them come near you again, and it was you accepting my reasonable suggestion, so I'm not sure what you're complaining about now, Sheppard. I can leave if you want to, and you can go back to your nice isolation room in the infirmary, attack everyone trying to treat you with the injections against your will and just wait until the seven days are over and your transformation will be permanent. It's your choice.”

The colonel gritted his teeth in annoyance, but he knew that Todd had a point here and finally relaxed his tense jawline again.

“No, I don't want you to leave, and I'm still grateful for your help and the chance to have a real choice. So Atlantis will not be in danger as long as we're away?” he wanted to know, and Todd's features softened in sympathy when he saw how torn his human brother was between his desperate wish to leave Atlantis and get the chance to really decide for himself and without any pressure or force whether or not he wanted to return to his full human self again and his sense of duty and responsibility towards Atlantis and the safety of the expedition team.

“You have my word that neither my Hives, nor the Hives of my friend will be a threat to your people, Sheppard,” he assured the man who looked so different now and was yet still the same person. “On the contrary, I gave order that my Hives will protect Atlantis during our absence, and my friend promised me that he would come to your help as well in the unlikely but possible case that another hostile Wraith clan decides that now of all times would be a good time to attack Atlantis. But it would be better for the willingness to cooperate of your people if they didn't know about that, so please keep that knowledge to yourself.”

Sheppard let out a sigh and relaxed in his seat. He seemed to sense that Todd was honest and didn't hold anything back for once, and he gifted him with a brief but genuine smile.

“Thank you, Todd. Okay, so where we go now?” he asked curiously, and the Wraith smiled back and handed him a sheet of paper with a gate address.

“Dial this address, and I'll tell you where we'll go from there.”

Sheppard took the paper and tapped his radion. “Atlantis, this is Jumper One, we're ready to dial out,” he informed Major Lorne waiting in the control room, and his XO replied immediately.

“Jumper One, you have clearance to dial out.” For a moment it looked as if Lorne wanted to say more, but he decided against it and only added a short, “good luck and safe journey, Colonel.”

The ancient Commander could see several emotions flicker over Sheppard's alien features, but the expression in his amber-golden eyes was hard and determined when he pressed the buttons with the gate symbols on his console with more vigor than what would have been necessary.

“Thank you, Lorne. I know Atlantis in the best hands possible with you. Jumper One out.” He maneuvered the small vessel in position while the wormhole flared to life with a loud hissing noise, and then the Jumper accelerated and disappeared through the gate with Sheppard and Todd on board to re-materialize at a place far far away from the City of the Ancients and where no human from Earth had ever been before.

*~*~*

“Wow, it's beautiful. It looks like one of these huge scary Chinese dragons. This would be the dragon's tongue.” Sheppard stared through the front screen of the Jumper as he regarded the nebula with the irregular shape that always reminded Todd of a squad of flying Darts and pointed at something on the nebula's left side. The nebula was still shining brightly against the blackness of space of this rather starless region of the Pegasus Galaxy, a large and yet so small colorful spot in the vast of the universe.

“What is a Chinese dragon, Sheppard?” Todd inquired, his attention focused on his companion despite the deep fascination this special nebula aroused in him each time he re-visited this place.

The dark-haired colonel with the altered features couldn't take his eyes off of the wafting colorful clouds of star matter, and Todd knew that he'd been right to take his human brother here and show him this nebula.

“A dragon is a mystic creature that can breathe fire and has large wings to fly with. A Chinese dragon is a special kind of dragon. Dragons are huge, powerful and dangerous, but sometimes there will be a special human who'll be able to tame one of them and become its friend – someone who is not afraid of their fire and will fly with the dragon,” Sheppard explained absent-mindedly, his gaze glued to the sight in front of him. He looked relaxed and at peace with himself and his surroundings for the first time since Todd had visited him in the white isolation room, and the Wraith felt drawn to him in a way he'd never felt drawn to any other living being – human or Wraith – before he'd met Sheppard in Kolya's dungeon all those months ago.

“You are one of them, Sheppard. You are a dragon rider by nature. Only a dragon rider can tame a Wraith, I think.” Todd said, and the colonel finally turned his head to look at him.

“Tame a Wraith?” he asked with a slight frown between his dark brows, “is it even possible to tame a Wraith?”

Todd felt a strange tingling deep in his abdomen. “You tell me, Sheppard,” he countered in some kind of answer that wasn't really one, and for several long seconds they stared at each other silently, before the colonel turned away abruptly to resume observing the nebula.

“Why did you bring me here, Todd? What does this place mean to you?”

Now they were getting to the point this was all about, and the ancient Commander took a moment to gather his thoughts before he replied:

“This nebula is what's left of the explosion of a supernova. We're in safe distance to the neutron star that is hidden inside the nebula, and as this place happens to be close enough to the next space gate for a Jumper to come here, I thought that you might want to take a look at it.”

This drew Sheppard's attention back to his companion, and he looked sharply at the Wraith. “An exploding supernova? That must have been long ago, then.”

The Wraith inclined his head. “It was, Sheppard. Ten thousand years ago, to be precise.” He watched his human brother closely while he waited for his reaction to come, and the colonel swallowed and cleared his throat as he was confronted with Todd's immortality once more.

“You were there, when it happened.” It was a statement, not a question, and Todd returned his gaze openly.

“Yes, I was Sheppard. I was still a rather young Commander, and three of the Hives that belonged to the Queen I served back then were involved in a battle with six Lantean warships. We were more than fifty light years away from the sun and thought ourselves to be in safe enough distance from it as we were aware of the danger, but the war between our races had reached a crucial turning point, and my Queen was allied to another Wraith faction and had sworn to come to their help. We were on our way to evacuate the planets of the other clan the Lanteans were attacking when the star exploded sooner than we'd anticipated and without any warning, and the shock wave reached us even fifty light years away.

The other two Hives under my command were destroyed together with five of the Lantean warships within seconds, and I am still not sure how I and my crew managed to survive and bring our heavily damaged Hive in far enough distance of the expanding shock wave. The Lantean ships could have survived the destruction if they hadn't been so foolish to open a hyperspace window that collapsed right when they tried to enter it, destroying my Hives in the process, and the remaining last warship was as damaged as my Hive and crashed on the surface of a moon that belonged to the planet they had been about to attack when I'd entered the system with my three Hives.

We were fifty light years away from the supernova, but we were yet too close to it and paid a terrible price for our carelessness and arrogance – we Wraith as much as the human Lanteans. We might be immortal – or able to ascend in their case – but we are still nothing more than tiny and unimportant spots in the greatness and vast of the universe – the blink of an eye compared to the seemingly endless life of a star. And even these giants will cease to exist one day, gone in between one moment and the next in one big explosion.

Each time I feel that I need to be reminded of my own pettiness in the greatness of life in its diversity, I come here and watch the nebula. It has been here for the past ten thousand years, which seems to be an eternity and is yet nothing more than a blip in the life of a star, and it will still be there when my own existence has come to an end.”

Todd went silent, and Sheppard turned his head back to the front screen to look at the nebula.

“So you brought me here to remind me of my own mortality and unimportance?” he asked after thinking about Todd's words for a few minutes, his voice shallow and not giving away what he was thinking.

“No, Sheppard. I have brought you here to share a part of my own history with you. There are only few of my kin left who are old enough to remember the moment when the supernova exploded. We have a photographic memory as you know, and I can still hear the screams of my dying brethren in my head sometimes. I have survived ten thousand years since this fateful moment, and I have lost and buried many souls since then – far too many. Brothers and enemies, allies and friends – beloved ones I cared deeply about. Immortality is something so many people strive for, and yet it can be a heavy burden when you will always be the one left behind alive and with all your memories of happy moments that are gone and will never come back.

I have talked to Dr. Keller, and even though none of us can really be sure about the changes your transformation will cause and what they will mean for you and your future life, but she agrees with me that one of these changes will be that you will age much slower and outlive most of your family and friends. You are a soldier and you had to become accustomed to the possibility that each new day can be your last one over the last years. Are you sure that you can become accustomed to the thought that you will see those you love and care for age and die while you will stay young and be the one who has to bury them as well, Sheppard?

You are not Wraith like Mr. Woolsey and the rest of your team are thinking, and it takes more than being infected with the Iratus-DNA to become Wraith, but the mutation you are going through changes your biology considerably in more aspects than just your outer appearance. I won't tell you what to do and how you should live your life in the future. That's not why I offered to spend the next seven days with you. But I see it as my duty to show you the possible consequences of your decision – whether it will be that you decide to continue the treatment and return to your former human self or not.

Only if you know about these consequences you can actually come to a valid decision that is based on knowledge and not born out of some sense of defiance. We both know that you will never be the pure human again which you have once been before you met the young Wraith Ellia. This new incident and your second transformation is proof enough that you will always have to live with the Iratus-DNA inside you, and that this part of you will never go away again. But it's one thing to know that the Iratus is sleeping hidden somewhere inside you, and a totally another kind of thing to embrace it and accept it as a real and important part of yourself.

I usually come here alone, and even though this nebula is in the celestial maps and well known of course, but only few of my own brethren know about the meaning it has for me, and you are the only one I've ever wanted to bring here and share the story behind this nebula with, Sheppard. So think carefully about what you really want, John Sheppard. Do you want to be the one killing the dragon or the one riding on its back? It's your choice, and once you have stepped onto one of these two paths, you will not be able to turn around, go back and choose the other one any longer.”

The colonel looked thoughtful and honored at the same time, and he leaned back in his seat and regarded the nebula with glittering amber-golden eyes. When he turned his head to look at Todd again, the Wraith could see that his human brother had come to a decision, at least for the first day of their fateful journey.

“What about you, Todd? Will you be the dragon if I choose to be the rider and not the killer?” he asked quietly, and Todd knew that there was only one answer he could give him, an answer that would not only change Sheppard's life forever, but also his own, and the lives of all beings living in Pegasus.

**Author's Note:**

> Kind feedback, kudos and comments, is the best reward and motivation for a writer to keep going, so please if you enjoy this story let me know and leave feedback for me! <33


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